Firefox already running but not responding
At a time, Firefox will make use of only 1 profile. Firefox does this by introducing a lock file in the profile folder. When you close Firefox, lock file is automatically removed. When you launch Firefox and if lock file exists already or in few other cases, where profile due to some reasons cannot be opened then Firefox browser displays the error message “Firefox is already running, but is not responding. For opening a new window, it is necessary to close existing Firefox process or else you can restart your system”.
Firefox may not respond properly due to one of the following reasons mentioned below:
Hang at Exit: When you close the browser, it can stop responding and stay in memory even if Firefox windows are not open. When you start Firefox the next time, you may encounter problems in new session that include history or missing bookmarks as well as blank Firefox window. These problems can be resolved when you restart the computer or end up all the Firefox processes.
Your previous Firefox version may not closed: Before you think of reopening your Firefox browser, you must keep one thing in mind that Firefox requires some time for shutting down completely. If you have just closed the Firefox browser then you should wait for few minutes and then try it again. If you immediately try to reopen it after close the Firefox window, it will possibly not respond.
2] Firefox didn't shut down normally: If Firefox was not shut down normally when it was last used then most probably the browser might be running still in the background. In such cases, the browser is not visible on screen but that does not mean it is not running. You can restart your machine and the problem might go away.
If by simply restarting the computer does not help then may be the Firefox that previously exited did not remove the lock file.
1] Restart your machine. After it restarts, do not try to start the browser
2] Open your profile folder
3] Delete the lock file in your folder
You may have to turn on display of the hidden files. In File browser window, choose view menu and ensure that 'Show hidden Files' is checked
Profile folder is not available: If Firefox is not able to find profile folder then it will display a message saying profile is already running or is in use. This may happen if you rename, delete or move your profile folder. If you run the browser from removable media or else profile folder is on the network driver then also it will show this message, hence make sure that profile folder is accessible whenever you want to restart Firefox.
Access Rights: The Firefox browser must have the right of creating files in profile folder. This will happen if you are trying to make use of profile from a different file system. That has read-only permission. (For example a Windows share that doesn't have “Allow the network users to modify my files” checked.
To check whether profile folder has proper permissions
1] Navigate to your profile folder
2] Go up 1 folder
3] Right click on profile folder and then select properties
4] Then click on permission tab
5] Make sure that folder access is configured to 'delete and create files'.
Restoring data from locked profile: If you cannot unlock the profile by using above methods then make use of profile manager for creating a new profile. You should then move your data from locked profile to new profile.
Hang at Exit: When you close the browser, it can stop responding and stay in memory even if Firefox windows are not open. When you start Firefox the next time, you may encounter problems in new session that include history or missing bookmarks as well as blank Firefox window. These problems can be resolved when you restart the computer or end up all the Firefox processes.
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